Germany is one of the most popular study destinations for Indonesians. The fact that the third president of Indonesia received his education in Germany has increased enthusiasm among Indonesians to study at German universities. However, moving to a new country having a totally different culture, climate, and almost everything might be very challenging to Indonesian students aspiring to get their degree from Germany. To address that anxiety, this guideline will provide insights about studying in Germany from the perspective of fellow Indonesian students who have already studied in Germany, along with other related sources.

This student guide is part of a project for Germany from an Intercultural Perspective class at University of Augsburg.

As a new student in Germany, there are administrative procedures which need to be completed before the study starts. Listed below are the list of common administrative procedures which need to be done by new students. It covers most things although there might be more administrative procedures needed, depending on a specific situation and requirements from the university or state where the student will reside.

In each item, there are commentaries from fellow Indonesian students and also their opinion about how difficult this process is. Hopefully it can give a better view about the process and help students prepare better.

Indonesian students need to apply for permission to reside in Germany by registering with the Alien Registration Office in town where they will be study. The University's International Office can give the address and provide information of which documents to bring:

• Confirmation of registration from the Resident Registration Office
• Confirmation of health insurance coverage
• Certificate of enrolment from German university
• Proof of financial resources (if applicable)
• Passport and visa
• Tenancy agreement
• Biometric passport photos
• The fee for first-time applicants can cost up to 110 euros. The fee for an extension can cost up to 80 euros.

Residence permit is issued in the form of a chip card that contains student's personal data (passport photo and finger prints). Four to six weeks after applying, Alien Registration Office will notify that residence permit has arrived and must be picked up in person. Residence permit is valid for at least one year and up to two years in some cases, and can be extended if necessary.

Indonesian students usually sign up for coverage after arriving in Germany. It is advisable that students who wish to buy their insurance while still in Indonesia, buy it from a German company since it will meet the required standards. A public health insurance policy costs about 80 euros a month until the students reach the age of 30 or have completed their 14th semester at university. After that, the monthly premium jumps to 160 euros or more per month. The Studentenwerk at numerous universities offers service packs for international students which include a room in a student hall of residence, meal tickets and health insurance coverage.

Having a valid German insurance is needed in order to enrol and apply for a residence permit and must be presented when students apply for residence permit.

What Student says:

Opening a German bank account is a must for new students. Most banks offer students a free savings account that comes with a bank card. By having a German bank account, students can transfer semester contribution to the university electronically after enrolment, pay housing monthly rent, pay insurance, and receive salary from a part-time job. Students can also withdraw money from cash machines free of charge.

To open an account, students are normally required to present the following documents:

• Passport or personal identification card
• Student ID or certificate of enrolment or notification of admission from the university
• Confirmation of registration from the Resident Registration Office or Alien Registration Office

What Student says:

Students must enrol to the university (matriculation) before they can start their study. After having enrolled, students are allowed to attend courses at university, take examinations, and obtain an academic degree. Enrolment allows access to all the facilities at the university. Students are normally required to enrol in person at the Office of Student Affairs ("Studentensekretariat") at the university.

Students can enrol after they receive notification of admission from their German university. If the university accepts student's application for a study place, it will send the notification of admission by post. This includes information concerning the enrolment period. Various documents need to be presented for enrolment and the staff at the International Office and the Office of Student Affairs can provide the information. Usual documents needed:

• Personal identification card or passport
• Notification of admission
• Qualifying document for university entrance: the original or a certified copy with a attested translation in German
• Several passport photos
• Confirmation of health insurance coverage
• Certification confirming that you have passed the German language examination (if needed)

Enrolment at university is only valid one semester at a time. For every additional semester, students have to re-register and pay the semester contribution. The re-registration period for the coming semester is always at the end of the current semester.

After enrolment, student will receive their student ID card. It can be used at the library, dining hall, computer rooms, sports facilities, etc. The student ID card frequently also acts as a ticket for public transportation in the university town. Sometimes there are student special discounts for tickets to cultural events, swimming pools, museums and trade fairs.

Large German cities provide public transportation such as buses and local railway lines (underground trains (U-Bahn), suburban railway (S-Bahn), and trams (Strassenbahn)). By having semester ticket, students don't have to buy tickets for public transportation. During ticket inspection, students just need to show their valid student ID card, such as passport or personal identification card.

Info sheets, bus stops and tram stops information can be found at public utility and transport companies, railway stations, and the tourist information office. Timetables are posted at all bus stops and railway stations where students can find when the buses, trams and trains arrive, and how long it takes to get there. Buses and trains usually come on time and run more frequently during the week than on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Timetables and route maps are also available online from public utility website or can download their app.

Important information when use public transportation:

• A ticket must be purchased before boarding public transportation. Students can buy tickets at ticket machines at the bus stop or platform, in the tram, or directly from the driver (in buses). Most ticket machines accept cash (and occasionally only coins). There are many machines that also accept debit or credit cards.
• Often ticket must be validated before the trip and the procedure differs from city to city. Sometimes ticket is automatically validated after purchase. At other times, ticket must be validated by inserting ticket into the small ticket stamping machine located on the platform or near the doors of the bus or tram.
• Evading or dodging the fare (Schwarzfahren) means using public transport without a valid ticket and can be fined 60 euros or more.

Students who move to another city within Germany must notify the Resident Registration Office of their change of address within one week. A registration form must be submitted at the Resident Registration Office and later the confirmation of registration received must be kept by the student. Documents needed for this registration are:

• Passport or personal identification card
• Tenancy agreement or confirmation of residence from the landlord

Finding accommodation is rated as the most difficult part on the checklist; students are expected to start looking as early as possible, ideally before arriving in Germany. The International Office at the university can provide advice and useful information to find a place to live although German universities do not automatically assign rooms to students when they enrol.

Students in Germany either live in a student hall of residence or a private accommodation.

Student Residence Halls (Studentenwohnheim)

There are several student halls of residence in every university town. A room in a residence hall is frequently the most affordable accommodation students will find. At some universities, rooms in student residence halls are in high demand therefore students must apply early enough to have good chances of getting a room. Students should apply as soon as they receive their notification of admission from their German university. The applications are processed by the Studentenwerk (Student Services Organisation), which is responsible for operating the residence halls and allocating rooms.

The Accommodation Finder is a very helpful tool for finding information about various student residences in university town. Students can even submit an application to the Studentenwerk for a room in a residence hall.

At some universities, the International Office is responsible for allocating rooms in student halls of residence. Students can inquire at the International Office about how best to obtain a room in a residence hall.

Private Accomodation

Like elsewhere in the world, private accommodations can vary enormously. In Germany, students will find everything from empty rooms to fully furnished flats on the market. Students can rent a room or an entire flat. There are also rooms available in flat shares.

In a flat share (WG, or Wohngemeinschaft), several people live together in one flat. Each person has his or her own bedroom, but shares the kitchen, bathroom, possibly a living room and sometimes the cost of telephone and Internet. Flat shares are very popular among students.

The most important aspect of life as a student is studying. Studying in a new country with new environment, culture and sometimes new languages can be really challenging and requires more effort compared to studying at the home country. Given below are opinions from fellow Indonesian students about what studying in Germany is like, what are the obstacles, and attitudes needed to succeed in studies.

The largest part of this section will be about language (German and English). Indonesian students can study in English or in German depending on the course they take and both have their own standards that can affect study and daily life in Germany.

Normally, German is the language of instruction for most degree programmes at German universities. Foreign applicants like Indonesian students are usually asked for proof of German language proficiency as one of the enrolment requirements.

That is not the case if a student enrols in an international degree programme or a special post-graduate course. Some universities also will not ask for proof of German language proficiency for an exchange program (one or two semesters). This rule depends on the university and it's best to check directly the language requirement at the university website.

Most English-language programs can be found at master's level, especially in the social sciences and business-related subjects. It is starting to become common at undergraduate level although it will need more patience to find it.

Using The International Program search tool from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), students can find 98 bachelor programs taught completely in English, many of which have the word 'international' in their title. When the search is narrowed down to show only bachelor's degrees with no tuition fees, 55 programs remain.

Even though students may need to pay tuition fees at a private university in order to study their chosen course in Germany in English, the fees may still be lower than those in other popular study destinations.

Students can demonstrate their German language level with two different tests. One is called the "DSH" (German Language University Entrance Examination for Foreign Applicants) and the other is the "TestDaF" (Test of German as a Foreign Language). Examination fees charged for DSH and TestDaF depend on the country where student lives and the institution which administers the test.

TestDaF

TestDaF must be taken in one’s home country before coming to Germany. The TestDaF is offered in over 90 countries around the world and is administered six times a year.

DSH

DSH can only be taken in Germany. Many universities offer the DSH exam. Students can check the information at the International Office at their university.

Passing all test sections of the intermediate level (TDN 4 for the TestDaF and DSH-2 for the DSH) means student is permitted to study with no restrictions. Achieving lower scores on various test sections doesn't mean that the student has failed. It depends on the requirements of the university.

There is an exception if student meets the following criteria:

• Student has "Abitur" from a German-language secondary school
• Student has passed the new Goethe Certificate C2 examination: major German Language Diploma or one of the former minor or major German Language Diploma or the Central Advanced Language Test of the Goethe-Institut (till 2011), or have passed the "Goethe-Zertifikat C2: Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom" exam (since 2012)
• Student has the German Language Diploma (stage II) from the German Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs
• Student has passed the "telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule" examination

Students can attend a language course in Germany to improve their German. Many universities offer language courses usually during the semester break (between June and September). Alternatively students can take German language course at private language schools.

A good place to learn German is the Goethe Institut, an official cultural organisation that represents the Federal Republic of Germany worldwide. The Goethe Institut offers German courses in numerous countries around the world, as well as 13 locations in Germany.

To study German online, students can go to "Deutsch-Uni Online" (DUO). It is a web portal for learning German and improving German knowledge as well as study preparation. The "DUO" offers courses both on beginners’ and on intermediate level. It also has preparatory course for the TestDaF and advanced level courses to learn subject-specific language and acquire subject knowledge.

Studying in a new environment with new culture can be really challenging. The poll listed bad time management as the biggest obstacle. In the second place, language, course materials, and course workloads are the difficulties faced by Indonesian students.

Sometimes change of attitude is needed to be successful in overseas study. Most Indonesian students here agree that study experience is totally different compared to that in Indonesia. Therefore, new strategies and new attitudes should be employed. Willingness to adapt and integrate with the environment is rated as the most important attitude that should be embodied by Indonesian students. Discipline is in the second place and it makes sense since the biggest obstacle rated by students is bad time management.

Besides studying, students will have various other activities to do from the survival related like cooking and eating to recreational ones like traveling across Europe (or other neighboring continents). Below is the list of daily life activities and some knowledge for better preparation before moving to Germany.

The first and foremost skill for surviving in another country is to be able to cook and before that to buy groceries. There are various supermarket chains in Germany with its own goods selection, price level, and product quality. Along with that, there are specialty shops like Asian supermarkets that sell specialty products.

Asian Supermarket

An Asian supermarket is a category of grocery stores in Western countries that stock items imported from various countries in East, South and Southeast Asia. Asian supermarkets have items and ingredients generally well-suited for Asian cuisines and simply not found or considerably more expensive in most Western supermarkets (due to low turnover and small quantities).

What student says:

Buying furniture is a tertiary need but if it makes student's life more comfortable thus more productive, it's an inevitable things to purchase. Even more, if the housing option doesn't provide furniture, students have to buy it by themselves. Most students in the questionnaire answered that they have bought furniture in Germany.

What student says:

To cut budget, it's also possible to buy secondhand goods. Students that are moving out usually will sell their old furnitures, cooking utensils, or other things that can be used by new incoming students. Students can check their ESN (Erasmus Student Network) group in Facebook or some other student groups. The other options to obtain secondhand goods are from sozialkaufhaus (social department store) that sell donated goods.

What student says:

Germany is a multicultural country with people from various religious backgrounds. Finding a place to pray is not a problem for most students especially with help from Google to pinpoint the nearest places of worship. Most students think it's quite easy to find place to pray, but for students who are unfamiliar with the neighborhood initially, it can be quite challenging. Sermons are usually in German although students can find English sermons meant for the international community.

What student says:

Finding halal food is also rated as easy by Indonesian students. Turkish community opens halal kebaphaus that provides halal food and Turkish delicacies. Not only do Turkish or Muslim communities enjoy it, but also Germans! Some students choose to cook by halal food for themselves and it's not a problem since student housing always has a kitchen.

What student says:

Almost all Indonesian students never find any difficulty to get permission to pray. Religious freedom is protected by law and as long as it's not interfering with the work or study, it's not a problem at all for students to ask permission to pray.

What student says:

Indonesian students may work 120 full days or 240 half days per year. Job as a student assistant or research assistant at the university can exceed the 120-day limit. However, students are obliged to inform the Alien Registration Office for it. The law for international students is very strict and violators could be expelled from the country.

Students usually take a job at an institute, library or other facility at the university. Waiting on tables in cafés and pubs is also a typical student job. Other students accompany visitors at trade fairs, work as delivery drivers or cycle couriers, or take on odd jobs like cleaning, babysitting, working in copy shops, etc. To get better chances at finding a job, knowing how to speak German is extremely important.

To find a job, students can look into “Schwarze Bretter” which are large notice boards with lots of information, centrally located at the university, libraries or supermarkets. There are job-finding services for students at many universities as well. Studentenwerk or the Federal Employment Agency in the city also can provide information about job vacancies.

What student says:

To save more if students travel frequently, having “BahnCard 25” or “BahnCard 50” can be a good investment. This card automatically reduces the price of the ticket by either 25 or 50 percent. There is another special offer like “Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket” (Good Weekend Ticket) with which up to five people can travel by local public transport on either Saturday or Sunday. Another great offer is the “Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket” (Across the Country Ticket), with which up to five persons can travel anywhere in Germany on regional trains for a low price.

It's best to plan travel beforehand to save money by purchasing the ticket far in advance. Ticket can be bought at the counter in the railway station, at ticket machines or via the website of the Deutsche Bahn. Tickets are often less expensive if purchased online. Tickets for fast trains (Intercity Express (ICE), Intercity (IC) and Eurocity (EC)) usually cost more than those for local railway lines like the Interregio-Express (IRE), Regional Express (RE), Regional Bahn (RB) trains, the underground (U-Bahn) and suburban railway (S-Bahn).

The perk of staying in Germany is that it's in the heart of Europe and this makes it easier to travel to other countries within the Schengen area.

Traveling reason

One key of success to study in Germany as mentioned by many Indonesian students is to be able to adapt and integrate with German culture. To adapt, at first we have to recognize the stereotypes of German people and how Germans are seeing Indonesians. Fellow Indonesian students have listed their experiences interacting with Germans and fun things that can be done together with German friends.

Most students here has at least one German friend. Nothing beats befriending locals in order to know more about the culture of the place where students live. There are a lot of fun activities that can be done with German friends and the most popular one is BBQ. In summer, students can have their schedule full with BBQ party invitations. The other favorite activity is traveling together since Germans love outdoors and sport so much.

Common activities with German friends

Even Germans with an immigrant background have to cope with the threat of racism. Foreign names or physical attributes can be enough to lead to discrimination at work and in public. But students from foreign countries shouldn't be worried about this since based on Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz), every person is protected from discrimination on grounds of race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, religion, belief or philosophy of life, age, or sexual orientation.

The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency can provide confidential counselling free of charge. This protection applies regardless of residence status. Students in need can contact +49 (0) 30 18555-1865 (Mo–Fr: 9:00–12:00 a.m. and 1:00 –3:00 p.m.)

Reason for discrimination